ABSTRACT
Today, a majority of economists and most central bankers assume that the main goal of a central bank should be to promote price stability, i.e. a stable and low rate of inflation. This goal is considered as the only reasonable objective that can be attributed to a central bank, all other objectives “having failed.” Recently, however, an intense debate has taken place among economists about the role that should be given to asset prices and other financial considerations in central bank operations. Most economists have concluded that financial matters have no role in usual policy-making unless they help to improve inflation targeting. However, not all economists agree and some of them would like central banks to put more focus on the management of financial imbalances.
